Former Secretary of State John Kerry appeared for an interview to express his regret that the war between Ukraine and Russia is distracting people from climate change.
Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, appeared on camera Monday to speak with BBC Arabic, where he decried the “massive emissions consequences to the war,” adding, “But equally importantly, you’re going to lose people’s focus. You’re going to lose certainly big country attention because they will be diverted. I think it could have a damaging impact.”
While Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike call Putin a “thug,” Kerry pleaded with Putin to consider the climate.
“I hope President Putin will help us to stay on track with respect of what we need to do for the climate.”
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“I think, hopefully, that President Putin would realize that in the northern part of his country, they used to live on 66% of a nation that was over frozen land,” Kerry said. “Now it’s thawing. His infrastructure is at risk. The people of Russia are at risk.”
“In terms of international law and trying to change boundaries of international law by force, I thought we lived in a world that had said, ‘No,’ to that kind of activity,” Kerry went on. “I hope diplomacy will win.”
As of this report, the death toll in Ukraine has surpassed 50 people. Russia is reported to be using tanks and bombs to attack Ukraine.
“I’m very concerned,” Kerry said. “I’m concerned about Ukraine because of the people of Ukraine and because of the principles that are at risk.”
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Kerry was most recently in Vietnam meeting President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to a tweet. He claimed he was there “to discuss how Vietnam can be a leader in tackling the climate crisis in Southeast Asia.”
Pleased to meet with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other senior officials to discuss how Vietnam can be a leader in tackling the climate crisis in Southeast Asia. pic.twitter.com/peSoN7Ze82
— Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry (@ClimateEnvoy) February 23, 2022
“Secretary Kerry strongly condemns the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces,” a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. The spokesperson reiterated that the clip came from an interview on Monday, before the attack.
